Source: Sharecast
The university's index of consumer sentiment rose to 60.5 in June, improving for the first time in six months, though still 20% below levels seen in December when confidence saw a post-election bump.
This was up from 52.2 in May and April, the index's lowest level since July 2022 and well ahead of the consensus forecast of 53.5.
According to the university's surveys of consumers director, Joanne Hsu, positive trends were seen in June across all categories of age, income, wealth, political party or geographic region, as consumer fears surrounding the launch of extremely high tariffs in April began to lessen.
"Moreover, all five index components rose, with a particularly steep increase for short and long-run expected business conditions, consistent with a perceived easing of pressures from tariffs," Hsu said.
The current economic conditions index rose from 58.9 to 63.7, while the consumer expectations gauge jumped from 47.9 to 58.4.
However, the public still "remain guarded and concerns" about the economic outlook, according to Hsu.
"Consumers still perceive wide-ranging downside risks to the economy. Their views of business conditions, personal finances, buying conditions for big ticket items, labour markets, and stock markets all remain well below six months ago in December 2024," she said.
